Danilov is a city at a crossroads. The federal highway from Yaroslavl to Vologda and local highways pass through it, the Trans-Siberian Railway and railway tracks from the center to the north of Russia converge in it.

The fates of three famous personalities from the theater and cinema are connected with little Danilov: director, creator of the Taganka Theater Yuri Lyubimov, actress and head of the Moscow Art Theater named after Gorky Tatyana Doronina and actor Alexei Smirnov (he played the aircraft mechanic Makarych from "Only old men go into battle", the parasite Fedya from "The Adventures of Shurik", etc.). You have the opportunity to see the houses where these wonderful people spent their childhood.

Should an inquisitive tourist drive off the highway and explore this city? Definitely worth it!

Peter the Great stopped in Danilovo more than once on his way from Moscow to Arkhangelsk. There is a version that during one of these visits, the Danilovites presented chess to the emperor so that he would change his anger to mercy.

Today, this story is recalled by an object in the center of the city – a giant chess set, which embodies the images of the inhabitants of Danilovo of the XIX century. Having solved the chess puzzle, take a walk through the Summer Garden and cobblestones along the Shopping Malls, along the quiet streets where director Yuri Lyubimov and actor Alexei Smirnov, beloved by many generations of Makarych, as well as Oleg Masainov, the puppeteer, creator of Cheburashka, crocodile Gena and other characters, spent their childhood.

Take a look at the majestic Prison Castle of the XIX century, where Alexander Solzhenitsyn was held.

Take away local gastrobrands with you – a special red Danilovsky onion, fragrant gingerbread or local tinctures.

If you are by car and with children, do not be lazy to get to Baba Yaga's homeland, to the village of Kukoboy. Here you can admire the architectural miracle of Yaroslavl – the Cathedral of the Savior Not Made with Hands.

What must be done in Danilovo:

• If you arrived by train, you will appreciate the building of the railway station, an architectural monument of 1930 in the style of constructivism. And next to it, find a water tower and wooden houses of pre-revolutionary construction with a clear imitation of Gothic.
• Take a walk through the historical center, where shopping malls and merchant houses of the XIX – early XX centuries have been preserved, where temples are being revived and a Summer garden is green, feel the atmosphere of a quiet patriarchal town.
• Explore the now empty old prison castle, which was a prison until 1964. Both in the pre-revolutionary era and during the Stalinist repressions, many famous figures of Russia passed through the Danilovsky prison. For example, Felix Dzerzhinsky and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The atmosphere of the former prison is unusual – silence, emptiness... There have been legends for a long time that ghosts are found on the castle grounds...
• Visit the active Kazan Convent in the town of Gorushka, founded in the 1890s with the blessing of John of Kronstadt. Explore the city and its surroundings from the viewing platform under the dome of the Kazan Cathedral.
• Enjoy local cakes and gingerbread, cheese and butter.

Danilov Museums:

• The Danilovsky P.K.Sharapov Museum of Local Lore includes several expositions on the nature, history, and culture of Danilovs. Here you will learn about the famous natives of Danilov, and that Danilov was one of the "samovar capitals" of Russia.
• What to eat and what to take with you:
• The famous red Danilovsky onion is the "northern apple".
• Chicken coops and giant "Bogatyr" eggs from a poultry farm.
• Babur's toy.